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The differences between instructional designers and user experience designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become an instructional designer, becoming a user experience designer takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a user experience designer has an average salary of $91,159, which is higher than the $57,534 average annual salary of an instructional designer.
The top three skills for an instructional designer include instructional design, subject matter experts and project management. The most important skills for a user experience designer are sketch, UI, and user research.
| Instructional Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $57,534 | $91,159 |
| Hourly rate | $27.66 | $43.83 |
| Growth rate | 7% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 50,321 | 52,582 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 12 |
An instructional designer focuses on devising learning materials and content to aid every students' learning difficulties. These can include videos, books, and presentations. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis to identify the needs of students, crafting learning strategies in collaboration with experts. They are also responsible for developing tools and materials to help assess every students' progress, such as quizzes and examinations. Furthermore, an instructional designer needs to coordinate with all personnel involved with the project to ensure accuracy and timeliness.
A User Experience (UX) designer is an individual who measures and optimizes applications to improve the experience of end-users. His/Her or her duties and responsibilities include considering a design's human-computer interaction element, defining interaction models, and working with creative directors and designers. The key skills for UX designers include strong mathematical and problem-solving skills and excellent information technology and programming skills. Having a bachelor's degree in a design or computing-related subject is an advantage to qualify for the UX designer position.
Instructional designers and user experience designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Instructional Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average salary | $57,534 | $91,159 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $79,000 | Between $65,000 And $127,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hartford, CT | San Bruno, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Washington |
| Best paying company | BitGo | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between an instructional designer and a user experience designer in terms of educational background:
| Instructional Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Business | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | Harvard University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between instructional designers' and user experience designers' demographics:
| Instructional Designer | User Experience Designer | |
| Average age | 44 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.8% Female, 58.2% | Male, 59.6% Female, 40.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.5% White, 62.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 3.4% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 10.4% White, 70.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 13% |